Creative Commons launched CC Signals to do for datasets what it did for creative works, and Dr. Niki discusses why seals are learning to play video games.
Starring Jason Howell, Jenn Cutter, Tom Merritt and Dr. Niki.
JASON: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, June 26, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.
JENN: Today Dr. Niki tells us why seals have learned to play video games and a number of AI training cases to sort through [23:53]
I’m Jason Howell,
I’m Jenn Cutter
JASON: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
BIG STORY
BIG STORY GOES HERE
Microsoft sued by authors over use of books in AI training
Judge dismisses authors' copyright lawsuit against Meta over AI training | AP News
Getty drops key copyright claims against Stability AI, but UK lawsuit continues
JASON: Just two days ago, we talked about Anthropic's fair use win in US court related to copyrighted books used to train its AI models. Today, there's a bunch of related stories so let's dig in.
A group of authors have sued Microsoft in New York federal court, alleging the company used nearly 200,000 pirated digital books without consent to train its Megatron AI model. They charge the AI with mimicking the style and content of those works, and they are seeking a court order to halt Microsoft's actions along with statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chabri dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit from 13 authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman, against Meta over using their works to train generative models. The judge said the authors, “made the wrong arguments and failed to develop a record in support of the right one.” However, Judge Chabri made a point of saying the ruling was narrowly applied to these 13 authors who filed the case, and does not mean that Meta's use of copyrighted materials was lawful.
He criticized the recent Anthropic case where Judge Alsup cleared the company of some infringement claims because of the transformative nature of training on data from legally acquired books, writing, “Alsup focused heavily on the transformative nature of generative AI while brushing aside concerns about the harm it can inflict on the market for the works it gets trained on.” This seems to suggest he would rule differently if presented with a better case.
Finally, there's Getty Images which dropped its primary copyright infringement claims against Stability AI in the UK, but this is a bit different. In this case, it's driven less by the merits of copyright law and more by challenges over jurisdiction. Getty struggled to establish a direct link between Stability's alleged infringing acts—training with Getty images—and UK territory, as most of that training occurred on US servers. The case now focuses on secondary copyright infringement, meaning whether the import and use of AI models trained abroad constitutes infringement in the UK. In other words, this case has little to do with Fair Use as is the case with the other stories this week.
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JASON: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
BRIEFS
Creative Commons debuts CC signals, a framework for an open AI ecosystem
JENN: Creative Commons has launched CC Signals, a new framework that's designed to guide how datasets can be used in AI development, aiming to do for AI what the nonprofit did for creative works online. The initiative allows data holders to specify if and how their content can be reused by machines, with legal and technical tools that resemble Creative Commons' existing licenses. A framework like this can address data extraction practices and the hope is that it could prevent the internet from becoming more closed off and paywalled. Public feedback is requested ahead of an alpha launch in November 2025.
Bipartisan 'Open App Markets Act' resurrected to challenge Apple's App Store control
JASON: A bipartisan group of US senators has revived the Open App Markets Act, with a target set on Apple and Google's control over their mobile app stores. The bill seeks to establish clear rules preventing tech giants flexing "gatekeeper power in the app economy." It would allow developers to inform users of cheaper pricing, enable sideloading of apps, and support third-party app stores and payment systems. The new bill does includes new protections for IP as well as prohibiting punitive action against developers enabling remote access to different apps. Expect Big Tech to push back big time this second go around.
Intel is closing its automotive chipmaking business
JENN: Intel is shutting down its automotive chipmaking business and laying off most of the division's employees, according to a memo spotted by The Oregonian. Following years of investment in automotive technology, and more than 50 million vehicles powered by Intel chips, the company is now planning a major restructuring that shifts focus to Intel's "core client and data center portfolio." The closure likely will not affect Mobileye, Intel’s self-driving tech subsidiary, which continues to operate independently.
Fortnite players set for $126 million refund this week. Here's how to get the money.
JASON: Nearly 970,000 Fortnite players are set to receive a share of $126 million in refunds this week. This follows a Federal Trade Commission settlement with Epic Games over deceptive in-game purchase practices, including unsupervised children. The FTC is sending out checks and PayPal payments now to those who previously filed valid claims. If you think you are eligible but haven't filed yet, the FTC has extended the claim deadline to July 9. Find more details on the FTC website and be sure to have either your claim number or Epic Account ID ready.
Dell’s new Premium laptops are here, for the XPS rebrand nobody asked for
JENN: Dell has replaced its XPS brand with a new Premium line, launching the Dell 14 Premium and Dell 16 Premium laptops in its wake. The new models remain very similar to the XPS predecessors, with updated Intel Ultra Series 2 processors, Nvidia RTX 5060 GPUs, and a refreshed Dell logo. Other high-end features include 4K OLED displays, Dolby Atmos audio, and up to 27 hours of battery life. Prices start at $1,649.99 for the 14 Premium and $2,699.99 for the 16 Premium and they are available now.
Aaron Sorkin is making a sequel to The Social Network
JASON: A lot has happened with Mark Zuckerberg's Meta since Aaron Sorkin's film The Social Network was released 15 years ago, the least of which being that the company is no longer called Facebook. A sequel is in the works, called—you guessed it—The Social Network Part II, written and directed by Sorkin, and it's inspired by The Wall Street Journal's “Facebook Files.” That report focused on the negative impacts of the platform on teens, spread of misinformation, and its role in real-world violence like the January 6 Capitol riots and the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. No word yet on whether or not the original cast will return to their previous roles.
YouTube adds an AI Overviews-like search results carousel
JENN: YouTube is introducing an AI-powered search results carousel for Premium users in the US that resembles its AI Overviews feature in search. The carousel will appear in searches related to shopping, places, or activities, and will offer video suggestions and topic descriptions generated by AI to assist in finding relevant content. YouTube also announced that it is bringing its conversational AI tool to non-Premium users after it began experimenting with the feature last November. An Ask button will appear on a video's watch page allowing the viewer to ask questions about the video content itself in a chatbot environment within the YouTube app.
JENN: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper.
IN DEPTH
JASON: If I told you scientists taught Seals to play video games, that might be enough to satisfy you. I mean, who doesn’t want video-game-playing Seals! But Dr. Niki can explain why you’d want to do this beyond just entertaining us and the Seals. [TRT 6:24]
PROMO
JENN: What do YOU want to hear us talk about on the show? One way to let us know is in our subreddit. Submit stories and vote on them at www.reddit.com/r/DailyTechNewsShow/
HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND
JASON: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Bodie Grimm is helping us understand.
JENN: Bodie writes:
Great discussions on Briefing and Live about Tesla's Robotaxi launch. While Tesla is trying to block federal, state, and local agencies from releasing certain information Texas does have 2 great resources to learn more about autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state.
First, Texas CAV Developments Dashboard, it's a map of where all of the autonomous driving companies are operating in Texas. When I say all, it shows everything from delivery robots to autonomous semi-trucks. It shows the company name, where in Texas it's operating, the type of service, the status, and some other useful information. I suggest using the filters at the top of the page to drill down on the info you're interested in.
JASON: Second, the austintexas.gov website has a section for autonomous vehicles operating in Austin. The site provides information on what autonomous vehicles are, links to legislation, documented incidents, FAQs, and AV operators in Austin.
AV Operators in Austin
ADMT (VW) is in the testing phase. VW is also outfitting the ID.Buzz for AVs. They have a European mobility company called MOIA that will deploy the ID.Buzz in 2026, no idea if the autonomous Buzz will come to North America.
AVRIde is in the testing phase.
Motional (Hyundai) is in the mapping phase.
Waymo is in the deployment phase.
Tesla is in the testing phase, I'd expect this to change to deployment soon.
Zoox is in the testing phase.
Texas CAV Developments Dashboard
Autonomous Vehicles – Austin
Power BI Dashboard
Electrek article
JASON: What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com
JASON: Thanks to Dr. Niki and Bodie Grimm for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. You can keep us in business by becoming a patron, atPatreon.com/dtns
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